Lancashire have revealed that they lost £2.1m in 2010 – the worst financial result in their history and among the grimmest figures recorded by a county cricket club – to underline how much they are relying on staging a Test in the next Ashes series during 2013.

They may be the county champions for the first time since 1934 but Lancashire ended 2010 with debts of £14m and expect that figure to grow considerably by the end of this year as they continue the redevelopment of Old Trafford.

The £32m project suffered substantial and expensive delays and was threatened by legal challenges from a rival developer. But since they were seen off in the high court last summer and Lancashire were then awarded a 2013 Ashes Test by the ECB, the county have been able to plan confidently for the future.

Their previous record loss of £546,000 was announced for 2009 and last year they completed construction of The Point, the conference and events facility which last week staged the celebration of Sir Alex Ferguson's 25 years as the manager at the other Old Trafford. They have not staged an England Test against top-tier opposition since 2008, with only a less-lucrative match against Bangladesh in 2010, and no Test at all either this year or next as major building work continues at the ground.

Lee Morgan, Lancashire's finance and operations director, said: "The transitional period in building the new stadium was always going to create huge challenges, although the investment will result in the club being well-placed for the long term in ensuring international cricket remains at Old Trafford in a competitive and tough market. "The majority of the club's current debt has been raised to fund the building of The Point, which has already, and will continually prove to be, an important revenue generator for the business. It is important to note that the club will not take on any further debt to fund the rest of redevelopment of Old Trafford which is scheduled for completion in early 2013.

"Although challenging times do remain for all county cricket clubs, with the certainty provided by our international match-staging agreement and also the redevelopment of the stadium into one of the best in world cricket, we have every reason to be optimistic for a successful future of Lancashire."

Only one of the 18 first-class counties recorded a profit in 2010, and Lancashire follow Yorkshire and Warwickshire in announcing losses in excess of £2m.